For Penn State interim co-offensive coordinators, simplicity equals speed

Dec. 27—ATLANTA — The morning after Penn State's 24-15 loss to Michigan in November was difficult for everyone inside Lasch Building.

If a third straight defeat to the Wolverines wasn't hard enough to digest, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin also fired Mike Yurcich as offensive coordinator.

Franklin then appointed interim co-offensive coordinators, running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle. They spoke to the offensive players at a meeting that day, tried to restore confidence and encouraged them to finish the season strongly.

"Coach Seider and Coach Howle rallied the troops in a sense," quarterback Drew Allar said, "and did a great job of that."

Strategically, Seider and Howle aimed to put Penn State's best offensive players in their best positions. They sought to make things less complicated.

"Our motto since we took over is: simplicity equals speed," Seider said Wednesday. "We don't want guys thinking. We want them to go play. We've recruited well. We've got great talent.

"The worst thing they can do is go into a game thinking what they could or should be doing instead of just reacting to what the defense is doing and taking advantage of our skill."

The Lions defeated Rutgers 27-6 by rushing for 234 yards and then pulverized Michigan State 42-0 by gaining a season-high 586 total yards.

Seider and Howle hope to continue their success when No. 10 Penn State (10-2) meets No. 11 Ole Miss (10-2) in the Peach Bowl Saturday at noon (TV-ESPN) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"We've done a great job of playing to our strengths," Seider said, "and making sure the right guys get the right touches, giving guys confidence."

Seider and Howle played high school football for their fathers, Seider in Belle Glade, Fla., and Howle in Raleigh, N.C., so it's no coincidence that they chose coaching as their profession.

They've worked together at Penn State since Howle joined the staff as an analyst in 2020 and have learned they have shared philosophies, which has led to a greater connection.

"It has been great with us both seeing things through kind of the same set of eyes," Howle said. "It made the transition easy."

Seider was a quarterback at Belle Glade, West Virginia and Florida A&M. Howle was a center at Bunn High School and then played center and guard at Penn State from 2009-13.

"You always align together when you play those two positions," Seider said. "You take an O-lineman and a quarterback and you put them in the same room. They're going to think alike, act alike and ID stuff alike. We're going to see stuff alike."

Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton have especially thrived in the two games since Seider and Howle began calling plays.

Allen has carried 31 times for 206 yards, a 6.6 average, and has caught four passes for 23 yards; Singleton, a Gov. Mifflin grad, has run 29 times for 179 yards, a 6.1 average, and has made two catches for 68 yards. The two combined for 340 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage against Michigan State.

"Coach Seider told me and Kaytron they were going to lean on us when they took over," Singleton said, "and that we're gonna run the ball. They told us to play fast and not to think too much. We've been doing that."

Allar missed almost the entire second half of the Rutgers game with an upper-body injury before completing 17-of-26 passes for 292 yards and two TDs against Michigan State.

"Coach Seider and Coach Howle have done a great job of giving us simple rules to follow," Allar said. "For receivers, it was always thinking about a certain leverage; they could do this, but they should do that. Now it's just, 'You're running the route this way.' That allows those guys to play fast.

"Same with the tight ends. That makes my job a lot easier because I think the timing and communication has gotten on a different level. I've been able to anticipate more of what everybody was doing out on the perimeter."

Seider and Howle are putting simplicity over complexity, just like incoming offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki does.

"When this transition happened we really thought about what we wanted it to look like," Howle said. "The first thing we thought about was players, not plays. Who are the guys that are going to help us win, and how are we going to be able to take advantage of things that they do well?

"Starting with players and not plays has kind of been our philosophy. Allowing those guys to go play fast and execute have been the big keys for us."